Muzaffar Suleymanov, CPJ's Europe and Central Asia Research Associate, traveled to Kiev on July 6 on a week-long fact-finding mission and spoke to more than a dozen local and international journalists about press freedom conditions in the country. Suleymanov also met with journalists who had covered or were covering the ongoing violence in eastern Ukraine.

This month, the prosecutor-general of Kyrgyzstan, Aida Salyanova, told the Committee to Protect Journalists that her office is working hard to fight corruption and ensure transparency in government activities.

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New York, June 12, 2014--The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by Bishkek City Court's refusal to open a new investigation into the case of Azimjon Askarov, a journalist and human rights defender who has been imprisoned in Kyrgyzstan since 2010 in retaliation for his work exposing wrongdoing. The court scrapped today an earlier decision by a lower Bishkek court, which had ruled that the journalist's case should be reinvestigated. Askarov's lawyer has said he will appeal the decision to the Supreme Court, reports said.

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New York, April 30,
2014--The Committee to Protect Journalists commends today's decision by
Oktyabrsky District Court in Kyrgyzstan's capital, Bishkek, to renew the investigation into the case of imprisoned journalist and rights
defender Azimjon Askarov, who was imprisoned
in 2010 in retaliation for his work exposing official wrongdoing.

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Today,
the U.N. Human Rights Committee begins its two-day review of Kyrgyzstan's
compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. By ratifying
the treaty in October 1994, Kyrgyz authorities pledged to enforce internationally
recognized provisions regarding the protection of human rights, and freedom of
expression, in their country.

While President Almazbek Atambayevurged the state council in March to enforce rule of law and guarantee the protection of human rights, he demonstrated little political will to bring about such changes. Authorities showed no intent to revive the Uzbek-language media that thrived in southern Kyrgyzstan prior to the June 2010 conflict, in which clashes between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks left hundreds dead and thousands displaced. Broadcasting in the largest minority language remained limited--only one broadcaster produced news in Uzbek. While access to the independent regional website Ferghana News was restored by most Internet service providers, the Kyrgyz government failed to repeal the June 2011 ban that recommended the outlet be blocked in connection with its coverage of the 2010 conflict. As a result, fear remained that authorities could legally block the website at any time. In May, Atambayev signed a vaguely worded anti-extremism bill that his critics said could be used to target free expression on the Web. Three years after the 2010 ethnic conflict, injustice continued to impair press freedom and human rights. The Kyrgyz leader publicly declared his commitment to revisit the case of imprisoned reporter Azimjon Askarov, but no action followed: Prosecutors failed to investigate the case even after new evidence emerged in Askarov's defense.

Kyrgyzstan
has endured a turbulent past and continues to face significant challenges, but
its leaders are committed to a democratic future, Djoomart Otorbayev, the
nation's deputy prime minister, told human rights and press freedom advocates in
New York this week. The country still grapples with the repercussions of the brutal
June 2010 ethnic conflict that left hundreds dead and thousands displaced.
Journalist Azimjon Askarov remains
in prison on charges that CPJ and numerous human rights groups have determined
to be in retaliation for his work in uncovering official abuses during the
unrest.

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On Wednesday, more than a year after being blocked
in Kyrgyzstan by government order, Ferghana
News was again accessible
to the public without the aid of proxy servers. Most local Internet
providers, including the state-owned Kyrgyz Telecom, restored access to the
website, Daniil Kislov, Ferghana's
editor, told CPJ.

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New
York, April 9, 2013--Lawyers for Ferghana
News, a website blocked in Kyrgyzstan for more than a year, have filed an
appeal urging the courts to overturn the ban that they say violates fundamental
civil rights. The Committee to Protect Journalists urges the court to find in
favor of the website and order restoration of domestic access immediately.

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Dear Prosecutor General Salyanova: The Committee to Protect Journalists is writing to bring to your attention the case of Azimjon Askarov, an investigative reporter and human rights activist imprisoned in Kyrgyzstan. CPJ has written widely about Askarov, who was sentenced to a life term on fabricated charges in a trial marred by procedural violations. Now, following new evidence that has come to light, we ask that you respect Kyrgyzstan's commitment to the rule of law and fulfill the public pledges that President Almazbek Atambayev has made in regards to the journalist's case.